The Keeper of Maraqua
by The Noble French Fry
Summary: Long ago, before the whirlpool that destroyed it, Maraqua had an astounding Princess who kept it from destruction longer than most would've thought possible. Follow the untold tale with me. [Made it to Neopian Times][Complete]
1. Genesis

**_Disclaimer: Ok, so I don't own Neopets, I just play there. (look me up as JediMaster891) However, Micella/Melleia, Wyneb, Enolive and Aangeelaare mine, allowed to Neopets through publication in the Neopian Times, and nowhere else._**

**_A/N: Yes, this made it into the Neopian Times a loooong time ago, the most recent chapter coming out just a few weeks ago. But I figured "Ah, what the heck, let's put it on fanfiction." So here it is, enjoy._**

* * *

**The Keeper of Maraqua**

**Genesis**

I know what you're thinking. "What? 'Keeper of Maraqua?' But Maraqua is nothing but ruins. How can there be a keeper?"

But there is.

Very few people know of her because she doesn't do much now. She can't. I won't tell you why she can't in this chapter, but I will in another. But even though the Keeper doesn't do much now, she has done great work in Maraqua and she has great plans for it.

But enough of my blabbering, I should begin the story.

* * *

The sea was dark and dreary today.

Far above, the clouds were dark and lightning split the sky. The constant rumble of thunder was heard even below the surface of the water.

Most of the sea's residents remained home, even though they were not forced to like the surface-dwellers.

Even the streets of Maraqua were next to deserted. But a few still wandered the streets.

One of these was a resident named Micella, Maraqua's only resident Water Faerie. Fingers were pointed at her everywhere she went and unkind words followed her constantly.

"They threw her out of Faerieland because she was so ugly," and, "I heard she has no magic," were among the most common. In reality, Micella had left Faerieland by choice years ago and few Faeries dared call her unique beauty "ugly." As to her magic, she had far more than most Faeries did.

So where did all of the rumors come from?

When one stayed secluded from society, people began to talk. But the talk did not bother Micella at all.

So as she swam home, she ignored the fingers pointed at her and kept on swimming. She turned down the small street that she lived on, down her walkway and opened her front door.

She swam directly in to her study and set down her parcel on a table. It was a large, square box that was weighed down by rocks so that it didn't float away.

Micella pulled off her cloak and laid it beside the box. She opened the box and began taking books from it. She examined each one closely before placing it on the shelf.

When she was about halfway done, there came a knock at her door. No one ever dared to knock on Micella's door.

Frowning, she swam to and opened the front door.

A small Maraquan Krawk dressed finely was there.

"Yes?" Micella asked, cocking an eyebrow.

The Krawk bowed and handed her a piece of paper that was folded and sealed with the royal seal. "Greetings from the palace, Miss Micella. Queen Aangeela requests your presence at the Palace of Maraqua for dinner. Her Majesty wants you to know that you are in no trouble, she merely wishes to speak with you."

Micella opened the paper and read it.

It said: "_Greetings, Micella the Water Faerie. Her Royal Majesty, Queen Aangeela requests your presence for a semi-formal dinner. This is not an order; merely a request and you will not be punished for denial. However, Her Majesty will present a gift to you if you are her guest._

_"Dinner begins at 17 o'clock sharp, Neopian Standard Time and you are required to be at the gates to Palace of Maraqua 15 minutes before then."_

Micella turned and glanced at a clock. Two hours. She turned back around and nodded at the Krawk. "You may tell Her Majesty that I will be there."

* * *

Micella combed and fixed her long aqua curls and polished her blue and green scales. She brushed on green eye shadow and accented her blue and green eyes well. And lastly, she put on gold bracelets and a necklace.

She looked the best that she had in several years.

She had never seen Queen Aangeela before, nor had she seen been in the Palace of Maraqua. Micella hadn't even seen the Palace up close.

But an hour and forty-five minutes after the Krawk left her doorstep, Micella swam down the streets to the palace. The rain, thunder and lightening had stopped and the night was calm. Even more fingers were pointed at the Water Faerie as she swam down the streets to the palace, dressed finely and without her usual dark cloak.

She reached the palace in no time. The palace reminded her of Queen Fyora's Faerie Palace in Faerieland, but with a great underwater touch. She swam to the gates and they opened to let her through.

Moments later, she was sitting in the dining hall, waiting for Queen Aangeela to make her entrance. Micella was looking around, thinking of how much this place reminded her of a Faerieland palace . . .

"So it is true," a voice said from behind Micella. "Micella the Water Faerie is in Maraqua."

Micella rose from her chair and turned around. A figure stood in the entrance to the dining hall. She stood in the shadows so Micella could not see her well, but she could see that she was gowned in rich robes of sea silk, and so she assumed that it was the Queen.

"Yes, Your Majesty," she said with a bow. "I am Micella the Water Faerie."

And then the Queen stepped out into the light.

Micella's heart stopped as she recognized her. "By all of the Faerie magic there ever was," she said in disbelief, "it can not be."

The Queen smiled but there were tears in her eyes. "Oh, but it is."

Both Water Faeries rushed forward and embraced each other strongly. There were tears in both of their eyes as they stood back.

"Sister, I thought that I would never see you again," Queen Aangeela said, wiping at her tears. It made a strange scene because they were underwater. She reached out a hand and touched Micella's face. "Is it really you?"

"Yes, sister, it is really me," she replied. "I thought I would never see you again either, Geela."

The Queen dropped her hand back down to her side. "It is no longer 'Geela.' I am now Aangeela."

"Yes, of course, Aangeela," Micella replied with a smile. "Where have you been the past ten years?"

Aangeela did not reply, she gestured for Micella to sit and sat herself. Micella did. "I will tell you where I have been, but first, you must tell me what _you_ have been doing the past ten years. You have come a long way from the 6 year old that I knew."

Micella smiled at the sister she had not seen in a decade as servants laid the first course in front of Aangeela and herself. "Ok, I will tell my story first. When you left the Water Faerie clouds—why did you, by the way?—without saying good-bye to me, I was devastated. So I spent the last 4 years of my apprenticeship wondering about you and where you had gone. I used to lie in bed at night and wonder where in Neopia you might be. And as soon as I was 10 and free to live by myself, I left Faerieland as well. In search of you.

"But Neopia's seas are large and after five years of searching and no results, I gave up. I searched the seas like my life depended on it, and then realized it didn't. I tried returning to the Water Faerie clouds, but I could not. Everything reminded me of you and the other Water Faeries were impossible. So I settled in the sea. And," she gestured, "in Maraqua." By the time Micella was finished, they were done with one and a half of the three courses. "So, _Queen _Aangeela, what is your story?" Micella asked through a mouthful of food. "You have come a long way from the 14 year old who left me."

Aangeela placed both of her hands palm down on the table. "Oh, come on, Micella. You can't hold a grudge after a decade. Especially since you haven't heard my story yet."

"I hold no grudge, sister; I merely require your reason for abandoning me."

Aangeela rolled her eyes but started her story anyway. "Well, years ago, when I was still in my early apprenticeship, I had a fierce rivalry with two Dark Faeries that they called the Night Twins. Those two were pure trouble and we were always having fights.

"I didn't see much of them after I finished my apprenticeship. But when I was 14, they came back. They tricked me into stealing something. I can't mention what to you though. What I stole was very important and the person that I stole it from was planning to use it for evil purposes. When I found out, I couldn't let her have it back. It would mean countless deaths and I couldn't let that happen." Aangeela's voice had gone lower as she spoke of the item that she had stolen.

"So I left Faerieland. I had to go without telling you good-bye. She would have come after you then."

Micella nodded. She understood.

"I was chased by her for five years," Aangeela continued. "I ran all over the sea and had to keep moving so that she couldn't get me. After that, I settled here in Maraqua and changed my name. Then, two years after I settled and three years ago, when I thought it was safe, I resumed normal life. With my assumed name, of course. I got involved in politics and next thing I knew," she shrugged, "I was Queen. I could not contact you for fear of alerting _her _to my presence. For that, sister, I am sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry," Micella replied, pushing her third empty plate away. "You did what you had to."

Aangeela smiled and nodded. "So, where are you living now?" she asked.

"On Coral Circuit."

Aangeela frowned. "Coral Circuit? That's a poor part of town, Micella. You must come live with me in the palace!"

Micella's eyebrows rose. "Here?" She looked around. "Sure! How could I turn down living with my sister in a palace?"

With a smile on her face, Aangeela called a servant. "This is my sister," she gestured to Micella, "Princess Melleia. She will be moving into the palace. Find a suitable suite and get her things."

The servant nodded and swam off.

After he was out of earshot, Micella turned to Aangeela. "_Princess_!" she exclaimed. "_Melleia_!"

"Yes!" Aangeela said. "You didn't think that you could get away with being the sister of the Queen and not be called 'Princess?' And of course you'll have to live under an assumed name."

Micella cocked her eyebrows but didn't argue. "So," she said, "when's dessert?"

* * *

So Aangeela and Micella—or should I say Melleia?—lived peacefully as Queen and Princess of Maraqua for two years.

Then the peace was abruptly broken.

"Princess Melleia! Princess Melleia!" Someone grabbed and shook her shoulder. "Your Highness, wake up! Your Highness, WAKE UP!"

Melleia rolled over onto her back and groaned. "What! It is the middle of the night and I'd like to sleep!"

"It's Her Majesty," the servant said, sitting on the side of the Princess's bed.

The Princess sat up against the headboard and groggily rubbed her eyes. "What is wrong with Aangeela? She can't sleep or something?"

"No, Your Highness," the servant replied. "Her Majesty's been shot."

Melleia was out of her bed and past the servant in a heart beat and she swam as fast as she could down the corridor. She used her powerful tail to thrust herself down the corridors and steer.

She reached the Queen's suite in no time. Melleia pushed the servants that were swarming Aangeela's room out of the way. Only one person was in Aangeela's suite and she left when Melleia entered.

If they had been on the surface, Aangeela would be laying on the floor, but because they were underwater, she floated parallel to the floor at about waist height.

Melleia swam to her sister's side and held her hand in her own.

Aangeela's eyes were closed and she was noisily straining to draw in water. Her long blonde hair billowed around her and swayed in the current. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and looked at Melleia. Her eyes were hazy.

"Sister," Aangeela whispered.

"Yes?" Melleia asked softly.

"I am . . . dying."

"No, no, Aangeela. No, you are not dying," Melleia insisted. "You can't die. You can't die."

"Do not . . . deny the truth," Aangeela whispered every word an effort. "I am . . . dying and we . . . cannot stop it."

Melleia's eyes began to tear. "No, no, no . . ."

"Listen," Aangeela demanded. "You must . . . take this." She weakly reached a hand up to her neck and removed a necklace. She dropped it into Melleia's hand. "This is what . . . she is after. You . . . cannot let _her_ . . . have it."

Melleia examined the object that her sister had just given to her. At the end of a glimmering gold chain was a round ball with swirling blues and greens inside of it. "Aangeela, what is it?"

Aangeela closed her eyes. "The Heart of Maraqua . . . It keeps . . . Maraqua alive . . . You cannot . . . let her have . . . it." Her breathing became even more laborious.

Melleia clutched the Heart of Maraqua tightly in her hand. "I won't. I will rule Maraqua as the second greatest queen ever, next to you. She, whoever _she_ is, will not get the Heart and Maraqua will not die."

"No," Aangeela said firmly, eyes still closed. "You cannot . . . stay in . . . Maraqua . . . she will come . . . for you. You must . . . run. Leave Maraqua . . . and don't return."

Queen Aangeela drew in one more breath. Her chest rose one last time and then was still.

Melleia looked at the object in her hand, realizing how big of a responsibility had just been dropped into her lap and how complicated her life had just become. She took the Heart of Maraqua and put it around her neck as tears began to stream from her eyes.

And the salt of her tears joined the salt of the ocean.


	2. Fugitive

**Fugitive**

The sky high above was clear and the sun beat down harshly on everything below it. The water of Neopia's seas seemed very clear today and sunlight danced on the water's surface.

But Melleia did not have time to stop and admire how beautiful the day was. She just kept on swimming, occasionally surfacing to make sure that she was headed in the right direction.

Finally, she swam up to the beach and dragged herself out of the water. The hot summer sun beat down hard upon her back. Melleia shook the water from her small Faerie wings and used them to fly up and hover inches off of the ground. She shook the excess water off of herself and pulled on a long dark cloak. It hid her face, Water Faerie tail and let her wings out through a hole in the back.

She was on the west beach of Mystery Island, near to the Marketplace. She needed some supplies from the market and her pursuers wouldn't think to look for her on land.

Melleia sighed and touched a hand to the charm on her necklace. Life had become very complicated for her, the former Princess of Maraqua, a week ago, when her sister, the queen, as her dying wish gave Melleia a huge responsibility. Now, Melleia was on the run from enemies she had never met, hiding in the sea's darkest, coldest hideouts.

She shook off her memories and started flying to the market. It wasn't far and she reached it in under a minute.

Many, many people were at the market today, making it a very colorful place. Melleia flew right in and no one gave her a second look.

She flew around, the many shop signs beckoning to her, pleading with her to visit their particular shop. She ignored most of the signs, knowing that there was probably almost no truth in what they said.

Then she came to a small hut with a stand that was set up out front. On the stand were many berries and foods of all kinds. Even Faerie foods.

Melleia stopped at that stand, eyeing the foods that reminded her of home.

"How much?" she asked the stand-keeper. She gestured to a few kinds of berries with one sweep of her hand.

The stand-keeper was a blue Lupe who was reclining in the shade of a sun shelter, lazily watching the people who stopped at his stand. When she spoke, he turned to Melleia.

"Super Juicys, 30 Neopoints a berry," he said, gesturing with a paw. "Fishberries, 10 Neopoints. Brightvale berries, 20 Neopoints. Faerie Pastries, 700. Blueberry Faerie Bubble, 350."

Melleia nodded. As far as she could tell, the prices were fair. She took a pouch from her waist and took out a few coins. She purchased a Super Juicy berry and a Faerie Pastry. Placing them in a sack, she wandered away from the stand.

As she left the stand and was moving on, Melleia spotted a few other Faeries just coming out of another shop farther down the path.

There were three, a Water Faerie and two Dark Faeries. They looked as though they were searching for something and Melleia had every reason to think that it might be her.

She quickly flew into an alley between two shops, trying to hide in what little bit of shadow was in the alley. But since it was almost noon, there were no shadows to hide in.

"Oh, no," Melleia muttered as she saw the three Faeries pass by the mouth of the alley. She tucked herself into a small ball and desperately hoped that she wouldn't be spotted.

The three Faeries passed by the mouth of Melleia's alley, absorbed in a conversation. As they passed the alley, Melleia breathed out a sigh of relief and stood up.

Then one of the Faeries came back and peered down the alley. She spotted Melleia instantly.

Melleia's heart leaped into her throat and she flew up and over one of the shops whose wall made the alley. She heard the shouts from below as she flew over the roof off the small hut.

"Get her!" one of the Faeries, probably the Water Faerie, yelled to the other two.

_I guess that settles any questions_, Melleia thought, struggling to keep up her fast pace. Her Water Faerie wings were small and not accustomed to this much activity and strain. Being a Water Faerie, she spent most of her time in water, not air.

But she managed to keep her pace quick.

Melleia chanced a look over her shoulder. She saw both Dark Faeries, wings furiously flapping, and the Water Faerie, trailing the other two.

Melleia began to slow, breathing hard and knowing that she couldn't keep this up. She had to get into her own element, in which she'd have the advantage.

_I need to reach the sea_, she thought, looking both ways quickly.

She was near the edge of the market, headed east. She couldn't reach the eastern shore of the Island, it was too far. She couldn't turn completely around and head back to the western shore, she'd have to go through the Faeries that were chasing her.

_That leaves north and south_, she thought. _And the south shore is much closer._

So Melleia took a sharp, 90 degree turn and headed for the south end of the Island.

Unfortunately, that made the Dark Faeries a bit closer than they had been.

"Come on, you can do it," Melleia kept muttering to herself, straining and trying as hard as she could to keep going and escape capture.

Now, if you didn't read the firstchapter (Genesis) you don't understand that there were reasons that she wanted to avoid capture other than to save herself. But if Melleia was captured, her beloved home, Maraqua, would die.

And she had vowed to her sister on her deathbed that she would not let that happen.

So Melleia pushed herself to her limit, and beyond. But the Dark Faeries pushed themselves to their limits too, and there limits were above Melleia's.

They steadily gained as they grew nearer and nearer to the beach, hoping to catch Melleia before she dove beneath the ocean's surface. And Melleia steadily slowed as they got closer to the beach, fatigue in her wings overcoming her.

"Come on, you can do it," she muttered again.

The beach came in to sight.

As soon as she was over water that was deep enough, Melleia stopped flying and turned to dive into the water, a smile on her face as she realized that she was probably safe.

So she angled her body and gladly felt the warm ocean water wash over her . . .

Her body was about halfway into the water when she felt a hand on her tail.

"Oh, no!" she screamed. One of the Dark Faeries had gotten close enough to grab her before she made it all the way into the water.

She was getting dragged back up, into the air.

But she wasn't going without a fight.

Melleia turned her body around, bringing her head and shoulders just out of the water. She saw the Dark Faerie who had her tail clearly.

Melleia thrashed at the Faerie with her tail, knocking her back and making her lose her grip.

Melleia dropped back into the water again. This time, she wasn't hauled back up above the surface.

She wasted no time in swimming away, diving deeper and farther away from the Dark Faeries and the beach of Mystery Island.

Then she heard a splash on the surface behind her.

Sound carries underwater, so she easily heard the splash and determined that it was made by someone about the same size of herself.

The other Water Faerie.

Melleia had forgotten about her through the course of the chase because she had fallen so far behind. She wouldn't stay far behind now.

Melleia thrust herself forward with her powerful tail, diving down toward the ocean floor. She chanced a look over her shoulder at her pursuer.

She was gaining.

Melleia turned back around and continued to thrust herself onward. "Come on, you can do it," she said to herself again.

"No, you can't!" the other Water Faerie exclaimed from behind her.

Melleia's comment, which she had only meant to be heard by herself, had carried in the water, loud enough for the other Faerie to hear. But she ignored the other Faerie and kept moving.

Glancing around as she swam, Melleia tried to decide where she was. After a few moments, she thought that she knew. She searched her memory of this area, trying to remember a place that she could hide in . . .

Then she thought of one. If she remembered correctly—and she hoped for her life and Maraqua's that she did—then there was a small hut nearby, hidden in the coral reef where she might be able to find shelter.

But she couldn't let her pursuer see her enter the hut . . .

_I'll lose her in the reef_, Melleia thought, already angling that way. _She can't know it as well as I do._

So, Melleia darted around all kinds of underwater plants, coral, seaweed and kelp, trying to elude her pursuer. After a moment, Melleia was almost certain that she'd lost the other Faerie and she darted (if that term can be applied to swimming!) off in the direction of the small hut that she remembered.

She hastily knocked on the door, continuously keeping an eye out for the Water Faerie that was after her.

A small Maraquan Acara answered the door. "Yes?" he asked.

Luck was on Melleia's side. A Maraquan pet would be likely to offer her hospitality.

"I am being chased and I need to hide," Melleia quickly explained, glancing over her shoulder. "This is the only safe place I can think of."

The Acara's eyebrows rose. "Why should I let you in? This would probably bring your pursuer here, yes?"

"You should let me in because if I am caught, many lives will be on the line. And no, I don't think that my pursuer will come here."

"The lives on the line, they concern me how?"

Melleia grew impatient and got a little alarmed. That Water Faerie might come out and spot her at any second . . .

"The lives concern you because yours is one of them!" she replied, not quite sure if that was wholly true.

The Acara looked at her suspiciously. "How can I be sure?" he asked.

"Because," Melleia said, deciding to take a gamble, "I am Melleia, former Princess of Maraqua and I give you my word as a royal, a Maraquan citizen and a Water Faerie."

The Acara's eyes grew wide when she said that she was a Princess. He then bowed and motioned her inside. "Hurry, Your Highness," he said.

She did.

After she was inside, the Acara closed and locked the door. The hut had only a few rooms, maybe three, Melleia guessed. A kitchen/dining room, a sleeping room and bathroom. There were no windows.

The front door opened right into the kitchen/dining room. Melleia pulled off her cloak as she entered, laying it on the dining table.

"Now, Your Highness," the Acara said, swimming up beside her. "What brings you out this way?" He gestured to the chairs around the table and for Melleia to sit.

She did. "Well, you know of the tragic death of my sister, Her Majesty Queen Aangeela." The Acara shook his head. "You haven't? Well, I must tell you, she had an enemy who came in and shot her, looking for something that she had. I am sorry, but I can't tell you what." He nodded that he understood.

"Anyway, she gave to me that item which she had as she was dying, forcing me to leave Maraqua. Her enemies are now mine."

The Acara nodded. "I understand, Your Highness."

"You can call me Melleia," she said. "I am no longer a Princess." A hint of bitterness crept into her voice.

"If it's alright with you, I prefer to call you Princess Melleia and Your Highness in hopes that you will one day return to Maraqua."

Melleia smiled a sad smile. "I will if possible."

"Meanwhile, you will be staying here and I will do all that I can to keep you safe and aid you, Your Highness."

"Thank you. If I am to stay, I should probably know your name."

"Wyneb," the Acara said. "My name is Wyneb."

"Well, thank you very much Wyneb," Melleia said, another sad smile creeping across her face. "But you may have just offered more than you meant to."

"No, I did not. I will help you even if it means the death of me."

"It very well might be," Melleia replied.

"Then so be it."

Melleia knew that now, she had an ally in her quest to keep Maraqua alive. Even if it meant the death of both, they would keep Maraqua alive.


	3. Return

**Return**

The water was shimmering in rainbow colors unlike any place that Melleia had ever seen. The water was warm and clear. Melleia's long, aqua-streaked blond hair drifted around her gently in the current. The blue and green scales on her water faerie tail also glimmered strangely in the peculiar light.

"Melleia, Melleia," a voice rang out. The voice sounded familiar, but Melleia wasn't exactly sure. The voice echoed throughout the water strangely.

"Who's there?" Melleia called, taking a defensive pose, ready to protect herself. "Show yourself!"

"Melleia, do not be afraid," the voice called out again. "You know me and always have. I will not harm you."

Then Melleia caught sight of the speaker. Her jaw dropped. "By all of the Faerie magic there ever was," she said, "it cannot be!"

"You are right, Melleia, it is not," Aangeela, Melleia's dear departed sister, said, swimming to hover several feet away. "You are asleep."

Melleia felt tears in her eyes. It had been so close: her heart's deepest desire—to see her late sister's face alive again—and it was just a dream . . .

But she looked so real. Aangeela looked the same as she had the day before she had died—the day that she had given Melleia the biggest responsibility ever. Her long blonde hair was loose and flowing, her water faerie tail's scales glimmered too, her face had a giant smile directed at Melleia . . . but she was just a dream.

Melleia felt her throat tighten.

"Do not cry, Melleia," Aangeela said soothingly. She swam forward to hover very close to Melleia in the warm water. "I still live in your heart." Her smile was soothing, as was her voice.

Melleia looked up into her face. So this "_dream"_ was semi-real.

"Now, Melleia, listen," Aangeela said seriously, the smile disappearing and being replaced by a determined expression. "The Heart of Maraqua is still safe, correct?"

Melleia reached up to her neck and brushed her hand across the necklace. "Of course," she replied.

"You must return to Maraqua soon," Aangeela told her. "Otherwise, the Heart itself will die and Maraqua along with it."

Melleia frowned. "But, Aangeela, you told me on that day that I was to run away and leave Maraqua, never to return!"

Aangeela sighed. "Yes, sister, but I was wrong you must return, or else our beloved home will die! Now, here's what you have to do..."

* * *

"Princess Melleia! Princess Melleia! Wake up! WAKE UP!"

Wyneb the Maraquan Acara, owner of the home that Princess Melleia was staying in, grabbed the thrashing water faerie's shoulder with one of his tentacles and shook it. The Princess of Maraqua continued to thrash around, asleep but obviously in a nightmare.

"Wake up, Your Highness!" he repeated.

He had to wake her from this nightmare, had bring her out. She was making the feeble house shake…

All of a sudden, Princess Melleia sat straight up, startling Wyneb and causing him to jump backward. Her eyes were wide and filled with fear.

"Your Highness, what is it?" Wyneb asked.

"A dream," she said, shaking her head. "Or perhaps the term 'nightmare' is more accurate."

Wyneb nodded. "What did you see?"

The Princess ignored his question. "Wyneb, we have to go back to Maraqua. As soon as possible!"

Wyneb nodded again. "That is possible, Your Highness. We can leave first thing in the morning. But now, I suggest that you get some sleep."

Princess Melleia sighed. "Alright, but remember, first thing in the morning!"

* * *

The next morning, before most of the sea had awoken, Melleia the Water Faerie and Wyneb the Maraquan Acara were swimming away from Wyneb's tiny cottage in the reef to the great city of Maraqua. The trip was not far, only an hour or so's swim, but Melleia was jittery every step (well, every flick of their tails) of the way.

She was wanted because of the Heart of Maraqua that she wore around her neck.

And the dark faerie who wanted her would stop at nothing to get the Heart in her hands.

She'd already been chased into hiding for months, and after that, Melleia wanted to be certain she wouldn't get caught by one foolish slip-up.

Melleia glanced around at her surroundings. A smile came to her face. "Wyneb," she said, "we are almost there! It is just over that next rise!"

Wyneb glanced at her and then at the hill on the sea's floor in front of them. He merely nodded.

Melleia grew very excited. Maraqua, the home she had not seen in months, was close.

_So very close . . . _she thought. Suddenly, she couldn't stand it anymore. She shot forward quickly, rising over the incline and got a glimpse of her home of Maraqua.

It was just as beautiful as the day Melleia had left. Hundreds of buildings, short, tall and in between, glimmered on the flat plain below the hill where Melleia was, early morning sunlight illuminating it gloriously. Beyond the city lay a bright coral reef that made the city look twice as brilliant. Schools of colorful fish flitted all around, making the scene feel like it was right out of a legend.

But then again, perhaps it was.

"Your Highness," Wyneb's voice broke into Melleia's thoughts. He had swum up beside her while she was gazing down over Maraqua.

"Yes?"

"I think that now would be a good time to discuss our plans for lodging," the Acara said with a slight frown. "I do not think that it is wise to openly flaunt your presence here. After all, aren't you still wanted, Highness?"

Melleia dismissed his comment with a wave of her hand. "I know that! I know where we can stay: in my old home on Coral Circuit. After I moved out, Queen Aangeela would not allow it to be sold, just in case we ever needed it."

Wyneb nodded. "Alright, Your Highness, lead the way."

It took them all of 5 minutes to reach Melleia's old Coral Circuit home. They arrived to find it empty, as Melleia had expected. Now this place was _not_ as Melleia remembered it.

The walls and the floor were now covered in algae from lack of cleaning. Most of the furniture was gone, sold two years ago when Melleia had first moved out. The home was now only the home to krill and a few fish. It lacked all signs of life . . .

"Your Highness," Wyneb interrupted her thoughts for the second time today. "Is it even possible for us to stay here?"

Melleia smiled. "Of course."

"But, Princess Melleia, the algae and—"

"Yes," Melleia cut him off, swimming through the empty house to her study. It had been Melleia's favorite room, over two years ago. "Aangeela had a secret room made so that no matter what happened, we had somewhere to stay."

"Her Majesty was very resourceful," Wyneb murmured.

They had reached the study, which, like everything else in the home, was algae-covered and empty. Melleia swam to the far wall, as algae-covered as the rest, and stuck her hand right into the algae. She felt around for the secret button—and found it.

Instantly, a section of the wall slid open, revealing a hidden room beyond the study's wall. Melleia swam right in and Wyneb followed her.

The room was only about five feet wide and it stretched the length of the house. From the study, one wouldn't even know this room existed, thinking that the house just ended in the study. There were no windows at all in the room, another of Aangeela's safety measures.

There was no algae in this room, because of a non-toxic effective, yet expensive chemical that Aangeela had had circulated into this room's water filters. The room had sparse furnishings: two sets of sleep rungs—cloth rings set onto the walls across from each other so that one could put one's arms up to the shoulders through one rung and one's tail, fin or legs through the other—replaced beds at one end, a table with two chairs sat near the room's center and on one wall was a cabinet filled with unspoiling rations that didn't taste very good, but were edible.

Melleia swam to the cabinet and withdrew a ration bar as Wyneb laid down his traveler's pack on the table. He sat down in one of the chairs and began unloading the few items that he and Melleia had packed.

Melleia took her ration bar from its protective package and took a bite. It tasted like cardboard. Her face wrinkled up and she tossed the rest of the bar into the trash bin.

Melleia sat down in the chair opposite Wyneb and pulled back the hood of her dark cloak. Both were silent for a while.

During the silence, Melleia just glanced around. At the time this room was made, Melleia had called Aangeela crazy, for she didn't know about the Heart at all. Now that she knew about the Heart and the danger it had put Aangeela in, she was sure that it was a great idea.

_But it still didn't help when the dark Faerie finally found Aangeela_, Melleia thought grimly. _It didn't help when Aangeela got shot._

"Your Highness," Wyneb finally broke the silence, "I do not mean to be rude, but now can you tell me what you saw in your 'nightmare' last night?"

His face was curious and inquisitive, but not a bit nosy or intrusive. Melleia could not deny his request.

She sighed. "I guess that I should. It's rather gruesome… Well, my sister came to me in a dream and told me that we must return here to Maraqua and rescue it. She also said that we must rid Neopia of the 'menace dark faerie who wants to kill Maraqua'. She said to me, 'This is to be your mission, goal and objective, and succeed or fail, you will be known forever by it.' " She sighed again, deeper this time. "I do not wish to be known as a failure and I cannot do this alone. You said that you would help me unto death . . ." She trailed off inquiringly.

"That offer still stands," Wyneb replied. "I am still ready to die to help you. But you must tell me the rest of your dream. You said it was gruesome, and so far, there has been nothing gruesome involved."

Melleia winced. He wasn't giving up . . . "Alright," she said. "I will tell you the rest. Aangeela then showed me what will become of Maraqua should I succeed or fail. If I—or rather we—succeed, Maraqua will live on, happy and complete but if we fail," Melleia winced again, "I am afraid that Maraqua will die. Destroyed. Hence 'gruesome.' I saw it: Maraqua's destruction. Aangeela showed it to me. Wyneb, we _cannot_ fail. We cannot!" She pounded a fist lightly on the table and then put both of her hands in her lap.

There was a long silence.

"So, what is our first step?" Wyneb finally said. "Should we try and find the menace dark faerie?"

Melleia shook her head. "No," she replied. "First, we must find out who is in power here in Maraqua. We must see if they are our ally. Surely someone has taken over since Queen Aangeela's death. It has been months."

Wyneb rose from his chair. "I will take care of that, Your Highness."

Melleia frowned. "How?"

Wyneb smiled. "I have friends here." His smile disappeared. "But I think that you should stay here. I suggest that you lock the front door. I will knock four times upon my return so that you know that it is me."

Melleia nodded and Wyneb left.

* * *

Two hours later, Melleia was beginning to worry. She had begun swimming back and forth, sort of like pacing the floor except underwater. Wyneb had been gone too long . . .

_Far too long_, she thought uneasily.

Just then, she heard four knocks on the front door. Relieved, she swam to, unlocked and opened the door.

She received a shock when the door swung open.

Hovering there was another water faerie that she remembered all too well. She'd run from this Faerie not too long ago… and escaped to Wyneb's home in the reef.

Or so she thought.

Beside the water faerie, bound in chains, was Wyneb, looking beat and bruised badly.

Melleia gasped and swam backwards, away from the door and the water faerie.

"Hello, Princess Melleia," the other water faerie said, reaching out with handcuffs. An unpleasant smile was on her face. "We've been waiting for you."

Melleia continued to swim back, but she was unable to get away. She would be captured.

"Do not even try," the other water faerie said. "You will not escape this time."


	4. Conclusion

**Conclusion**

Melleia the Water Faerie pulled against her maractite handcuffs, straining lightly… but she couldn't break free. She gritted her teeth and pulled with all of her strength.

They still didn't break. She should've known they wouldn't.

Quietly, she groaned under her breath.

Beside Melleia, Wyneb the Maraquan Acara—her ally in the quest to keep Maraqua alive—swam quietly and somberly, not even attempting to break free from his restraints. He was beginning to get on Melleia's nerves with his silence.

Behind Melleia and Wyneb swam an armed water faerie, who held the chains that were connected to Melleia and Wyneb's handcuffs. The cackling guard was herding her captives toward a place Melleia knew well: her old home, the Palace of Maraqua.

_How can this be happening! _Melleia desperately thought. This felt so extremely surreal to her. She'd taken all necessary cautions against getting caught, and yet here she was, trapped and led to what was most likely her death.

The small group was within sight range of the Palace's gates in moments and the closer they got to the palace, the further Melleia's hopes of getting free diminished.

Finally, they passed through the Palace gates and Melleia's hopes vanished entirely.

Head hung low in defeat, no longer struggling against her cuffs, Melleia swam wherever her "escort" shepherded her.

_Maraqua will die now because of me_, Melleia thought bitterly. _Aangeela was right, succeed or fail, I will be known through out Maraquan history as the Princess who killed Maraqua. What a reputation I'll have._

All of her hard work to keep the kingdom alive . . . and it added up to nothing now . . .

_No, _Melleia told herself. _It is not over._

She raised her head up now determined she would find away, sparked by Aangeela's memory. She realized quickly where the other water faerie was taking her.

The throne room.

They were already at the doors and just as that realization hit Melleia, the doors swung open . . .

Melleia received a stiff shock. Sitting on the throne was a dark faerie with thick black hair, streaked with gray, with large, pointed wings and long, sharp fingernails. Even more mysterious, she had no breathing device that Melleia could see.

_But dark faeries can't breathe underwater . . ._

Melleia was pushed into the throne room by the "escort" water faerie behind her.

"Hello, _Princess _Melleia," the dark faerie growled, spitting out her title like a curse. No bubbles escaped from her mouth, meaning there was no way she could be holding her breath. "I have been waiting for you."

"I'll bet you have," Melleia snarled back, defiance coursing through her. "And, why, may I ask?"

The water faerie who was shepherding Melleia and Wyneb stopped them in the middle of the room.

The dark faerie smiled a decidedly evil and unpleasant smile. "Because you have something I want."

Realization washed over Melleia like a tidal wave. This was the enemy she had been running from for a month, this dark faerie was the one who killed Aangeela, this dark faerie was the one who wanted to utterly destroy Maraqua . . .

But Melleia had no intention of letting that happen.

Her mouth felt suddenly dry even though they were underwater. "Whatever it is," she lied, "I don't have it."

The dark faerie snorted. "Come now, lies will not work. You know what I want and you know that you have it."

Melleia gulped. She was suddenly afraid, so afraid . . .

Then she scowled and mentally reprimanded herself. This was no time for fear, for if she allowed fear to control her now, she and Maraqua would die. Now was a time for bravery and quick thinking. Now was a time for her to be a hero.

"Yes, I know what you want," Melleia hissed. "But you cannot have it."

The dark faerie smirked. "Another lie. I can have it and I will."

She rose up off of her throne and swam to hover inches from Melleia's face. "I will have it," she repeated.

Then her eyes and Melleia's met.

Melleia saw in the dark faerie's glimmering eyes pure evil. She was going to stop at nothing to take the Heart of Maraqua from Melleia and kill the city. It was her mission, just as keeping Maraqua alive was Melleia's. There was _no_ way to compromise this.

Now on the other hand, the dark faerie saw in Melleia's eyes sheer will power. She would stop at nothing to keep Maraqua alive and keep the dark faerie from achieving her goals. Even if it meant her death, Princess Melleia would fight to keep Maraqua alive.

_Too bad for the Princess_, the dark faerie thought, _for she will inevitably fail._

"You will not win," Melleia said, eyes narrowing. "I promise you: you will not win."

The dark faerie smirked again. "I will make you break that promise. I promise _you_: I will make you break that promise."

Melleia's eyes narrowed even further. "No, you won't."

The dark faerie's smirk disappeared. Almost as if to prove her point, she reached out and jerked the Heart of Maraqua from Melleia's neck and fastened it around her own, another smile appearing as she closed the latch. This smile was even more vile and sinister than the others, if that was at all possible.

Melleia was churning with anger and fear on the inside.

Was this truly going to be the end of Maraqua?

Even through her fear that it would be the end, Melleia had to stall the dark faerie until she figured out a way to escape. "So, now do I get toe know who you are and why you want to destroy Maraqua?"

The dark faerie backed away a few feet from Melleia and once again, she smirked. "I guess that it is time to follow villain suit and give you the whole plot."

She semi-sighed. "Well, it all started with myself and a Koi many years ago.

"You see, I was once one of Maraqua's only water faeries and—"

"You were once a water faerie!" Melleia exclaimed.

The dark faerie cocked an eyebrow. "Yes… You don't think that I was magically given the ability to breathe underwater did you?"

Actually, at first, Melleia did.

"Anyway," the dark faerie continued, obviously oblivious to Melleia's wonderings, "I was a top advisor to the Koi king and he frequently required my magical abilities. I was called Liveea the Magical Marvel."

_So her name is Liveea_, Melleia thought.

"Then one day, the Koi king tricked me into something terribly wrong. I was to kill out most of the kelp harvest of the year… He told me it was infected, and that killing it was necessary to the life of the Maraquan citizens! But the kelp harvest was all that most people had…" Melleia could see in the other faerie's eyes her silent self-accusation. "I did as I was told.

"Queen Fyora discovered what I had done and was very angry with me. 'No faerie under my rule will commit such vile crimes!' she yelled at me when I was called to a court-martial of sorts. 'You will no longer be a water faerie, but a dark faerie! And you will now be called Enolive instead of Liveea!'"

Enolive is a word from the ancient faerie tongue that means, "Evil One" and Liveea means "Pleasant." It seemed only logical to Melleia that Queen Fyora would do such a thing.

The dark faerie pressed her lips together. "And then she turned me into this."

Melleia quickly noticed that Enolive avoided certain details of her story. Then she took another careful look at Enolive. Melleia had heard of faeries who had been converted to dark faeries because of crimes, but she had never really seen one face-to-face. And now she wished she wasn't seeing this one face to face.

"But why do you want to destroy Maraqua and where did Aangeela become involved?" Melleia insisted, once again stalling.

"Patience, _Princess_," Enolive hissed. "I vowed vengeance on Maraqua for making me lose my beauty."

_Well, that makes sense_, Melleia thought sarcastically.

"But I could not destroy it then because of the protective Heart of Maraqua." She reached down and gently caressed the necklace. "So, after a year of trying, I finally captured it from the previous king."

She made a nasty expression. "This is where your sister comes in: she stole it from me and forced my plans to a halt."

Enolive the dark Faerie growled. "And she halted them for an entire decade." A corner of her mouth then lifted in a half-grin. "Then I located and . . . _disposed_ of her."

Melleia fought back tears. Disposed of her! She saw killing a kind, gentle water faerie as only a necessary action to accomplish her goals? All hope that Enolive might find some reason in her heart to spare Maraqua left Melleia at that very instant.

For it was then that she realized that Enolive was truly evil.

But that was no reason to give up: it was only reason to try twice as hard.

"But then YOU came into the picture . . ." Enolive trailed off. "But it is no matter now, because I have the Heart—and you!"

_She is persistent_, Melleia thought.

Enolive snorted, which underwater is a very strange thing. "And you and your sister have caused me so much trouble that I've decided to make you watch!"

Melleia's eyes widened and she gulped. "You are?" But of course, she was not really scared of watching. It would provide her with another chance to stop the destruction of Maraqua.

The evil smirk reappeared for the hundredth time. "Yes, of course! And now that you know the whole story, I'd like to begin the destruction of Maraqua that has been so long in the making . . ."

* * *

Moments later, Enolive the Dark Faerie and bound Melleia and Wyneb (who had been completely silent during all of this) were in the Palace's highest room where Enolive had everything set to begin the destruction of Maraqua. She had dismissed the water faeries that had brought Melleia and Wyneb in. 

The room had been left empty for Melleia's entire life in the palace but now, it wasn't quite empty.

In the room's center was a large crystal dome with swirling colors inside, which Melleia somehow connected with Faerie magic.

The dark faerie locked Melleia and Wyneb's chains to a loop on the wall and swam to the crystal dome.

But while her back was turned, Melleia began banging her wrists against the wall and bending her cuffs. She pushed and bent them so that she almost had them far enough to squirm out of… when Enolive turned back around. She hovered on the opposite side of the crystal dome, looking directly at Melleia.

"I will waste no time explaining THIS to you," she said, raising her hands into the air over the dome. She began chanting words in the ancient Faerie tongue.

Melleia's eyes widened and she realized that it was finally here: her moment of heroism. It was now . . . or never. And never would definitely not work.

She wasn't about to let Maraqua die because of her fear.

Melleia slammed her wrists against the wall as hard as she could with a grunt. She thought that she heard something crack, but her cuffs had bent far enough that she could now get them off.

She yanked off her cuffs and darted toward the dark Faerie as rapidly as she could.

It happened so quickly that Enolive still had a surprised, deer-caught-in-the-headlights look on her face when Melleia smashed fully into her.

Melleia threw a punch aimed right at Enolive's left cheek. It connected though not nearly as hard as Melleia wanted.

Again, she thought she heard something crack and her wrist ached. But she ignored the pain.

Within mere seconds, Enolive threw a counterpunch that was three times harder than Melleia's.

Melleia flew backward and crashed into a wall. It instantly became clear to her that the water in the room was moving far faster than normal.

And that she only had one chance at defeating Enolive.

Melleia began muttering words in the Faerie tongue that do not translate well into our own tongue and threw all of the magic that she could muster at Enolive in a powerful water tornado.

Enolive was just rising from the floor when the blast hit her. She balled her fists and tried with all of her strength to withstand the powerful water blast.

All around Enolive was the powerful water tornado that Melleia sent and for a moment, she disappeared from sight.

But when she reappeared, she was no longer alive. She had turned into a foot-tall statue as Melleia had intended with her deceptive spell.

Enolive the dark Faerie was now forever frozen with her fists balled, teeth clenched and the Heart of Maraqua around her neck.

But it wasn't blue and green anymore. It had turned red and gold with Enolive's fury.

Melleia smiled, satisfied at the small statue and then up at Wyneb who was still locked onto the wall by his chained hand-cuffs. "I did it, Wyneb," she said. "I saved Maraqua from destruction!"

But Wyneb's usually green face was colorless.

Melleia frowned. "What—"

Then the walls fell in.

The current carried Melleia swiftly away from the Palace and out into the sea.

The whirlpool had begun.

* * *

The 18th day of the Month of Hiding (August the 18th) marked the fourth anniversary of that day, of the Destruction of Maraqua. 

All of Maraqua was utterly destroyed in that whirlpool caused by Enolive the dark Faerie.

Wyneb the Maraquan Acara perished in the whirlpool like hundreds of others.

Enolive's statue was tossed about in the whirlpool but it remained intact and it finally settled on the outskirts of Maraqua. It remains in the ruins there to this very day. You can even go and see her.

Melleia survived the whirlpool by sheer luck. She still lives in the ruined city with only a giant sea slug as a companion. Even now, she plots and plans Maraqua's revival.

If she has her way, Maraqua will thrive again.

I know you're thinking, "But the city has been rebuilt! Doesn't she know that? But why don't I see Melleia there when I visit the ruins of Maraqua?"

It is because she hides herself from the outside world. She knows nothing of New Maraqua because she hides. She is afraid that she will be thought of forever as the Destroyer of Maraqua and the Princess who failed in her duty.

But she doesn't know that the blame for Maraqua's destruction wasn't placed on her. Instead the blame was laid on the Koi king who took over in Melleia's month-long absence from the palace. For he was said to have dealt with a pirate, then did not fulfill his promises to the pirate. So everyone believed that the pirate vowed vengeance and caused the whirlpool.

But I don't believe that it happened that way.

Which story YOU believe is entirely up to YOU.

**THE END**

_Author's note:_

_This is the last story/chapter that Iwrote and plannedto writein the Keeper of Maraqua. Maybe (just maybe) I'll revisit the world of Melleia in a few years._

_Melleia was a fantastic character to deal with, and I love the Maraquan world in which she lives. It was a dream come true to me to be able to deal with a being that lives in the ocean as I only dream that I could. I'm from Florida, and adore the ocean with a wild passion, but I cannot live there as Melleia does. :(_

_At last, leaving Melleia's world and already thanking readers..._

_Wishing I had gills and a fin instead of these legs,_

_Nerca Beyul/JediMaster891_


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